After Yeo Haru peeled off Seo Jayu's paper figure, he immediately headed out of the classroom.
"Jang... Haru?" Seo Jayu's paper figure weakly said.
Yeo Haru ignored it and continued to drag its limp and torn body across the corridor. Following after them were the members of SEEDZ and the dozens of paper figures, curious as to what Haru would do.
"How did you get out?" Seo Jayu's paper figure asked. "Didn't I lock you by the pool?"
For a second, Yeo Haru halted in his steps.
"Yeah. So what? Can't someone rescue me?"
"Who would rescue a nobody like you?"
Yeo Haru sneered. "Who?"
He looked behind him, at his current teammates and those weird paper figures that rallied against Seo Jayu for his sake, before looking back at the pitiful paper figure in his hands.
"I have so many people who care about me now. How about you?"
Although Yeo Haru knew this paper figure of Seo Jayu wasn't the same Jay he knew, he still wanted to tell him that. The Haru he once bullied was not a nobody.
Yeo Haru continued dragging the paper figure.
"Even before you bullied me, I wasn't a nobody. I even passed my auditions to become a trainee idol."
"....." Seo Jayu's paper figure was silent.
"You were so jealous of me and bullied me because of it. You even locked me up in the pool to try to prevent me from going to the agency to sign my contract."
With Yeo Haru's every word, the flat face of Seo Jayu's paper figure crumpled as though grimacing.
"You think becoming a trainee prevents you from being a loser?" it said.
"Well, at least I got accepted. But you?" Yeo Haru smirked. "You're just hiding under your mother's influence, eh?"
"Beep you."
The system censored its foul words, annoying it.
Since it couldn't continue verbally abusing Haru with this censor in place, it just tried to struggle out of his hands, but with its strength, it could only flail around. Yeo Haru chuckled.
They had exited the school building and arrived at the entrance of the pool area. Yeo Haru pushed the glass door with one hand and entered. Rayen and the others followed behind them.
Just as the other members of the group entered, Adrian stopped before the entrance and grabbed Zbigniew back.
"???" Zbigniew stared at him, confused.
"I need your big body."
Zbigniew was even more confused.
Together, they blocked all the paper figures outside. Adrian faced the paper figures with crossed arms and smiled.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please stay where you are."
"Why are you blocking us?"
"Go away and let us pass! We want to see the end of Tyrant Jay!"
"End of Tyrant Jay!"
The revolting paper students raised their placards in protest. Even the teachers joined in on the frenzy.
"Spank the bad student!"
Despite this not-so-intimidating scene in front of him, Adrian remained smiling.
"This is a very personal matter for Haru. Let us give them the privacy they need, okay?"
...
Inside the pool area, the privacy that Adrian had given Yeo Haru wasn't private at all. After all, the other members of SEEDZ were still watching by the side.
Yeo Haru continued dragging the paper figure of Seo Jayu until they reached the edge of the pool.
He raised the mangled paper figure high up.
The paper figure continued to struggle without results. "Jang Haru! Let go of me!"
"Are you sure you want me to let go?" Yeo Haru responded. "See that?"
He pointed to the mushed pieces still floating pitifully on the surface of the water.
"If I let you go, you could end up like that."
"....." The paper figure did not speak.
Yeo Haru laughed, then pulled out his phone and fiddled with it. Right then, a familiar quill appeared in his hands.
Rayen and the others blinked in confusion.
"What is he doing?"
"What's Haruru gonna do?"
Iris and Xi Huan simultaneously asked.
"I don't know." Rayen shook his head.
Who knows what's going on with Yeo Haru's mind? Nevertheless, he still let him be even though Haru's actions might ruin his mission. Although this was essentially Rayen's Ranking Mission, it was also Yeo Haru's nightmare.
It should be the moment when he should resolve his unresolved matters from his past life.
Yeo Haru crossed out Seo Jayu's name amidst the paper figure's struggles and wrote his own name.
"HARU"
After he was done, he dismissed the quill from his hands. Casting a glance at the paper figure, he smiled.
"But even if you don't ask me, I'll still throw you in there."
Before he could even finish his sentence, he already tossed the paper figure toward the water.
"!!!"
If the paper figure ever had eyes, it must be staring wide at him by now.
"You, beep beep beep beep!" the paper figure cursed.
However, it could no longer stop its fate. One second later, it landed on the surface of the pool. Gradually, the water soaked into its body.
Yeo Haru watched and waited for any reaction from the pool.
"Will it work?" he muttered.
From the clues they had gathered, Yeo Haru understood that this scenario ran in his memories. But because they tossed the paper figure of the unknown sacrifice earlier, the scenario's circumstances suddenly changed into something else.
However, the memories of that paper figure seemed problematic because what happened next certainly didn't happen in the original course that Yeo Haru remembered. The students and teachers caring about him?
Ha! What a wishful thinking!
As for why he tossed Seo Jayu's paper figure in the water... From their conversation earlier, it seemed its memories matched with Yeo Haru's, so he was hoping it could restore this scenario to its original path.
And so, after a while of waiting, there was finally a reaction. Seo Jayu's paper figure tried to swim out of the water, but the pool started to swirl, pulling it back in place.
Soon, the familiar crying voice echoed throughout the whole building.
"Error. Error. System Overloaded."
Rayen frowned.
'System overload?'
"Error. Error. Two Haru detected."
"....."
So that was it.
It seemed like Yeo Haru's plan failed.
...
Outside, the members of the revolution against Tyrant Jay were still arguing with Adrian. They wanted to barge in and watch as the Tyrant would finally fall, but because of the large guy's presence beside the annoying four-eyed guy, they didn't dare force their way in.
"Let us pass! Let us pass!"
The others followed this yell by raising their placards, but suddenly, their movements stopped.
Adrian stared at the paper figures, his forehead creasing. "What happened?"
Zbigniew shrugged.
Just then, another anomaly appeared. Glitches appeared on the paper figures. A second later, they moved again, but this time, they let go of their placards.
Silently, each of the paper figures turned their backs against Adrian and Zbigniew and headed back to the school building.
The two looked at each other. With a simultaneous nod, they pushed the door behind them and entered. The first thing they heard was the familiar cries of the system.
The pool was swirling fast.
"Error. Err—"
Just then, the voice was forcefully stopped. One by one, the mangled remains of the first substitute disappeared as though being deleted until nothing was left. Gradually, the pool water also calmed down.
Once everything became tranquil, the members of SEEDZ, who had been watching the scene with tense bodies, all relaxed.
"What happened?" Adrian asked.
At the same time...
Ding!
Rayen felt a vibration coming from his pocket. Confused, he pulled out his phone to look.
On Rayen's screen, a pop-up window appeared.
[Team Ranking Penalty Mission Updated!
You have restored the scenario to its original course! Please complete the mission before the time limit ends!]
"This..."
Mini Plotter must have intervened.
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